Flash of Life
by JazziePerson
Summary: TV Show Episode Title Challenge - Prompt Set #3: Title Challenge: How to Stop an Exploding Man - Only Emily can save him.


**Author's Note:** I really have no business doing this. I've got a Philosophy Exam on Monday and I haven't revised at all yet but I saw this prompt on my computer as I uploaded a different one which was already written. And BAM this story popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. So here it is. Please review and tell me what you think.

NB: I also realised that I haven't written a dramatic story in the rain for a while so I thought I'd do that :)

DISCLIAMER: I don't own any of the characters.

**Prompt Set #3**

Show: Star Trek: Heroes

Title Challenge: How to Stop an Exploding Man

Flash of Life

Emily raced into the derelict building, her heart thumping under her Kevlar. The sky was thunderous grey and furious, pouring down rain and adding the occasional bolt of lightning into the mix. Emily had been exposed to it all for less than a minutes and she was already soaked through and freezing. So much for the summer weather. She'd been at a crime scene and Morgan had asked her to meet him and Hotch at this building after the UnSub had made contact through the tip line.

Running up the steps, Emily listened to the thunder. It was getting louder, almost as if, the higher she climbed, the louder it got. But that was ridiculous.

Reaching the top floor where Morgan had told her they were, she was about to enter the room when she heard Morgan shouting.

"Hotch! We gotta go!"

Emily burst into the room. "What the hell is going on?"

She stopped when she saw what was happening, mentally answering her own question. Morgan was tugging at Hotch's shoulder, although he couldn't have been trying very hard. He could've quite easily yanked Hotch to his feet if he'd wanted to. Hotch was crouched over the body of a little boy and from the ticking sound that was echoing around the room, Emily guessed that there was a bomb here somewhere.

"Morgan?" she asked.

"We've got three minutes." Morgan sounded not exactly panicky but something along the lines of it. He was a bit like a deer, edgy and flighty, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. And Emily couldn't blame him. What sort of human being felt comfortable in the same room as a bomb?

"Is that...?"

"Yeah," Morgan nodded. "It's Freddie Miller. He's already gone. Hotch won't leave. I can't get him to leave." That was where the panic just tinged his voice.

Emily glanced around, thinking on her feet. "JJ and Reid are on their way here. You go down and head them off. We want the least amount of people in here as possible."

"No, Emily. I'm not leaving you guys here." Morgan shook his head vehemently. "I can't do that."

"Course you can, Morgan." Emily grinned at him. "Go on. I'll get him out of here. I promise."

Morgan hesitated, clearly unwilling to go.

"I swear on Mother Night." Emily shot him a crooked smile, making out she was swearing on something as sacred as the Bible.

"You better, girl." Morgan smiled tightly. "I'll see you down there. But don't take too long."

"Don't worry about it." Emily called after him as he raced through the door.

Then, she took a deep breath and walked towards Hotch. He was knelt on the ground, staring into the pale face of Freddie Miller. Under the little boy's head was a detonator, next to his ear: the timer. They had less than two minutes. Just less.

"Hotch?" Emily said softly. "Hotch, we gotta go."

Hotch didn't move. He didn't say a word.

Emily thought quickly. She couldn't drag him down twelve flights of stairs so she needed a different tactic. She crouched down beside him.

"Hotch," she whispered. "Aaron. This isn't your son. Your son is safe at home with Jessica. But what's going to happen if you get exploded up here? Can you do that to him?"

She really hadn't wanted to bring Jack into this but right then it seemed that it was the only option. And anyway, time was running out fast.

Hotch looked up at her, his face showing only a hint of pain. And then he was on his feet. The pair of them shot out of the door and began sprinting down the stairs as fast as they could. Their paces and speed were reasonably well matched as they ran and as they hit the four floor, Hotch reached out and took Emily's hand. He squeezed it lightly and although she didn't stop or say anything, Emily smiled slightly. Down and down and down they went until, they burst through the doors at the bottom.

And that was when the top of the building exploded. Both Emily and Hotch were thrown into the dirt and both threw their arms over their heads to protect themselves from any flying debris. They remained like that for about five minutes.

And then Emily looked up. The building was burning, chunks of concrete lying in the dirt around them, one dangerously close to her leg. She took a deep breath and raised her eyebrows in relief. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that, about a hundred metres away, two black SUVs were parked haphazardly. JJ, Reid and Morgan were running towards them.

That was when she finally looked at Hotch. He was pushing himself up off the ground, brushing the dust off his Kevlar.

"That was really stupid, sir." Emily told him matter-of-factly as she sat up.

"I realised that, Prentiss." Hotch replied, obviously not keen to relay why he had felt so against moving.

"Okay then. That's good." Emily smiled, only a little shakily. She was still riding the tail end of the adrenaline.

"Thank you Emily."

Emily looked up, the surprise showing on her face. But then she smiled again. "Anytime, sir." Then she laughed.

"What's funny?" he asked, slightly bemused by the seemingly random outburst.

"Um," Emily's lips twitched. "Seeing my life flash before my eyes up there, I realised how little I've done with my life. Apart from putting away serial killers. I guess I'll have to find some more interesting things to do. That way, when the time actually comes, it'll be worth watching."


End file.
